At Takamatsu Station headed west towards Kokubunji.
Kokubungji Temple, No. 80 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, a 5 minute walk from the train station.
We spot a pilgrim entering the temple gate. Later, he catches up to us.
On to temple No. 82 - we will skip No.81.
The pilgrim catches up to us. We walk with him for several kilometers.
We come to a 3-way intersection. Temple No. 80 is behind us. No. 81 is to the left. No. 82 is to the right. Our new friend goes left, we go right.
Along some parts of the trail there are stone markers every 110 meters that countdown (in Chinese characters) to the next Temple. This is marker 19 十九, so it's 110 x 19 = 2.09 kms to Temple 82.
Helping Hand.
Sign along trail that reads Two people walking together. Our new motto. ;-) For a pilgrim it means Walking with the Buddha.
Nio guarding Temple 82.
Temple 82 is a so-called "forest temple".
And is enclosed by a rectangular, dark, atmospheric, corridor.
Pilgrims approach.
From Temple 82 we head NOT towards No. 83 but back to Takamatsu City. Beautiful walk that routes us through an orchard, a Shinto shrine, and ends at the harbour.
It was very cold and windy our last full day in Takamatsu and we waited until the afternoon to visit Ritsurin Garden. We were pleasantly surprised to see many pine trees which remind us of North Carolina our home state.
2 comments:
So glad that you were able to see some cherry blossoms. There was a picture with what looked like baby doll heads with red bandannas. What is that?
Very observant Liz! Those are "Jizo" and represent the Buddhist deity who protects children who have died before their parents. They have a child-like appearance and are often wearing red caps or red bibs.
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